Willard Franklyn "Bill" Searle Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1924-01-17)January 17, 1924 |
| Died | March 31, 2009(2009-03-31) (aged 85) |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1945–1970 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Awards | Legion of Merit |
Capt.Willard Franklyn "Bill" Searle Jr.USN (ret.) (January 17, 1924 – March 31, 2009) was an Americanocean engineer who was principally responsible for developing equipment and many of the current techniques utilized inUnited States Navy diving and salvage operations.[1][2]
Searle was born January 17, 1924, inColumbus, Ohio. He graduated fromBexley High School in 1941 and received the school's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1992.[3] The Japanese attack onPearl Harbor occurred during his first year atWashington and Lee University prompting a transfer to theUS Naval Academy where he graduated in 1945 (Class of 1946).[1] In 1945, Searle marched with his Naval Academy Company to accompany the late PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt fromUnion Station to theWhite House.[1] Searle then went on to graduate work innaval architecture atMassachusetts Institute of Technology attaining a master's degree in 1952. Later that year, Searle was assigned as anEngineering Duty Officer insalvage, diving and ocean engineering.[1]
Searle's first diving experience came in 1946 while serving in the destroyerUSSMeredith before transferring to theUSSWeiss where he was introduced toUnderwater Demolition Team techniques. Searle then trained at the Naval School of Diving and Salvage at theWashington Navy Yard, where he became a deep-seahelium-oxygen diving officer.[2] He was then assigned to two tours at theCharleston Naval Shipyard.
From 1957 to 1959, he was actively evaluating equipment ranging fromdiving watches toclosed circuit breathing apparatus design at theNavy Experimental Diving Unit.[4][5]
Searle then served two years as Chief Engineer on theUSSProvidence before attending the Command and Staff Course of theNaval War College inNewport, Rhode Island, in 1961.[1] Following two years as Pacific Fleet Salvage Officer in Pearl Harbor, Searle returned to Washington as the NavySupervisor of Salvage. He served in this role from 1964 to 1969, where he established theNavy Directorate of Ocean Engineering.[1]
As the Navy Supervisor of Salvage, Searle was responsible for the planning and buildup for the salvage and harbor clearance forces in South Vietnam, as well as many major salvage and deep ocean search and recovery projects such as the location of the sunken nuclear submarineUSSScorpion. He was also responsible for coordinating the recovery of theH-Bomb lost offPalomares, Spain as a part of Technical Advisory Group (TAG), Chaired by RADM L. V. Swanson.[1][6] Speaking on the H-bomb recovery, Searle noted that "When you think about what we did, it had never been done before".[7]
In 1968, Searle co-authored the first National Oil and Hazardous Materials Pollution Contingency Plan.[1][8]
Searle participated inSEALAB III, working with Dr.John Piña Craven, the U.S. Navy's head of theDeep Submergence Systems Project.[9]
TheLegion of Merit was awarded to Searle on February 24, 1970, by RADM Maurice H. Rindskopf with a citation that states "... CAPT Searle contributed more than any other individual since World War II to the high state of readiness which now exists in the Navy's salvage and diving organization.".[1][10]
Following his retirement in 1970, Searle founded a consulting firm,Searle Consortium Int. In 1971, Searle served as a special consultant in charge of removingshipwrecks from waterways during United Nations operations inBangladesh.[2] The Searle Consortium changed its name toMacKinnon-Searle Consortium in 1990 when Rear Admiral Malcolm MacKinnon USN (ret) joined the team.[1] Searle also remained an active member of the marine salvage community by serving as an adviser on several committees.[11][12]
Searle was a member of theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers, theAmerican Society of Naval Engineers, the Marine Technology Society, theRoyal Institution of Naval Architects, and theSociety of American Military Engineers. Searle helped found the American Institute of Nautical Archaeology. He also chaired theAmerican National Standards Institute (ANSI) Committee to develop a standard addressing pressure vessels for human occupancy.
Searle became a member of theNational Academy of Engineering in 1982.[1][13]
TheHarold E. Saunders Award was presented to Searle by the American Society of Naval Engineers in 1985.[14]
Searle was awarded the 1986Lockheed Martin Award for Ocean Science and Engineering by the Marine Technology Society.[15]
In 1988, Special Recognition was awarded by theUndersea Medical Society for his continuing support of physiological and medical research in undersea development.[1]
The potential for release ofPCB in the salvage of the bargeIrving Whale prompted the Canadian Government to contact Searle for evaluation of the aft lift cradle in 1996.[16]
Searle died March 31, 2009, at his home inAlexandria, Virginia, of complications fromParkinson's disease.[2] Searle's two marriages both ended in divorce.[2] His survivors include three daughters from his first marriage, two stepdaughters from his second marriage, eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.[2] Searle is scheduled forinterment withfull military honors atArlington National Cemetery on August 10, 2009.[17]
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